Denied loans, Black farmers face foreclosure.

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Author: Briggs, Jimmie

The story of Blacks in America is one rooted in the agricultural industry. From slavery onwards, farming and the opportunity of land ownership has been a crucial determinant of Black progress. Today though, the percentage of Black farmers within the total farming community has dwindled into the low single digits.

Discriminatory behavior by federal agencies was identified as the culprit, but seven years after a landmark settlement in what was the largest class action, civil rights lawsuit in American history, Black farmers are still fighting for justice and treatment equal to that of their white counterparts.

Last Wednesday, Black farmers and ranchers from throughout the country descended on Washington, D.C. to lobby for complete restitution and justice. Dr. John W. Boyd, a fourth generation tobacco farmer and leader of the National Black Farmers Association, spearheaded the protest. It followed rallies in previous years. On April 26, 100 farmers were joined by supporters and activists from student groups, members of the AFL-CIO, the NAACP and the Democratic National Committee. This year's event marked the tenth year of the legal battle.

"What should have been a good thing for Black farmers, for all Black people, turned out to be a bad thing," Boyd told the Amsterdam News. Due to racial animus and discrimination from his country farm supervisor a local representative of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Boyd like thousands of other Black farmers was shut out of receiving operating loans and other available support from the federal government. Today, he runs a dairy and vegetable farm with his son and father.

The lawsuit forming the basis of the farmers' protest was Pigford v. Glickman, which alleged discrimination by the USDA toward Blacks. Between 1983 and 1997, the doors of the USDA's Civil Rights Office were shuttered, negating the opportunity for individuals to file claims of bias or seek investigation. In 1999, a settlement was reached which would have given farmers $50,000, and upwards.

To date, approximately $900 million has been paid on claims, but thousands of others have been denied or are awaiting review. In the meantime, farmers face foreclosure because of an inability to pay bills. A legislative bill under consideration in Congress would allow the remaining, unpaid claims to be settled. Further, a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that of 22,000 claims reviewed only 64 percent were approved, with the rest being turned down.

The GAO study and the bill in Congress, with the support of Alabama representative Artur Davis (D), supports the efforts of Boyd and the Black farmers to postpone foreclosures and evictions of individuals involved in the federal lawsuit whose cases are awaiting review.

PHOTO (COLOR): A concerned farmer addresses crowd.

PHOTO (COLOR): Black farmers attending last week's protest in D.C.

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By Jimmie Briggs, Special to the AmNews